Friday, 7 November 2014

FILMS: What We Watched #3

Our weekend routine usually consists of watching a couple of
films. There's nothing we like more on a Friday and Saturday evening
then getting in our pj's, grabbing some snacks and a drink (or maybe
just a hot chocolate!) and watching a film. We have quite a Blu Ray
collection these days but the same thing happens every weekend in that
we can never decide what to watch.

We thought we'd share with you what films we watch each month and our thoughts on each film.

K-19 The Widowmaker

2002 | 138 min | Thriller

J: I enjoyed this film. Who doesn't love a good true story war kind of action movie?! The accents are a little off but story wise it's really good and an interesting part of the Cold War that wasn't too widely heard about until this was released. However knowing that Lauren's not a fan of Harrison 'Han Solo' Ford, I knew it might not be her cup of tea. Pretty sure I was right.

L: I'd never even heard of this film when Josh randomly bought it. It's the true story of the Soviet nuclear submarine and the disasters which surrounded it. I normally don't mind things like this but I can't say as I was a fan of K-19. It just didn't really grip me even when it was meant to be tense and full of action I felt bored and was counting down the minutes until the end. I wouldn't watch this again. Lets not even talk about the dodgy Russian accents of Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson.

Carry On at Your Convenience

1971 | 90 min | Comedy

J: Cheeky, bawdy, funny, childish...Carry On films are great comedies, and Carry On At Your Convenience is one of the best! Its a quick, easy watch and if you don't find yourself chuckling along at the double entendres and slapstick humor then clearly you don't have a soul. Fact.

L: When we were are uni we won't through a period of watching a lot of old films and TV series for some reason, Carry On films being one of them. We found this on TV and decided to watch it because we love a bit of old fashioned comedy. We like this sort of thing for easy Saturday afternoon viewing and Carry On at Your Convenience is one of our favourite classic comedies.

A Bugs Life

1998 | 96 min | Comedy / Adventure / Animation

J: Who doesn't love a good Disney Pixar film?! A Bug's Life is one of their very first offerings and it's great! The animation and story are top notch and there's also a lot of comedy moments in there too. A classic film that takes me back to when I was a kid! Also, I'm not going to lie, the Playstation game was amazing. Except the bit where you were in the cracked lakebed searching for other bugs. That level sucked.

L: This film really takes me back to my childhood! There's nothing like a Disney Pixar film on a weekend though. Even as an adult I laugh out loud at this film and genuinely enjoy the storyline and characters. I have to say for an animation there are actually some really good characters in this film, you kind of forget that it's animated bugs you're watching because it's been done so well.

The Incredibles

2004 | 115 min | Comedy / Adventure / Animation

J: I've never really given The Incredibles much time before but it's a pretty great film. Don't get me wrong, it's no Toy Story or Ratatouille or Up, but the story is fun and has puts a nice unique spin on the superhero genre. And I'll give The Incredibles 2 a whirl when it eventually comes out. I wish I had superpowers.

L: Not my favourite Disney film but not a bad film at all. It's easy viewing with some laughs and a decent storyline about super heroes who have had to resume their normal identities and live normal lives. It's well worth a watch if like us you enjoy Disney Pixar films.

Wall-E

2008 | 98 min | Science Fiction | Romantic Comedy | Animation

J: This is one of Pixar's best films. Wall-e is cool, curious, cute and all alone! Like a little robot ET! (He even looks like ET actually!) Save for the occasional "Wall-e" "Eve" and "directive", there's pretty much no dialogue from the two main characters...however this is a pretty heartwarming film! Good old Wall-e, you always find yourself rooting for him in his quest for robo-love!

L: Where do I even begin with how much I love this film, it's right up there alongside Up! as being my favourite Disney film. The lack of dialogue from the two main characters is a little odd the first time you watch it but you quickly release that it doesn't need a fancy script. It's heartwarming and feel good all through the actions of both Wall-E and Eve. I'm a sucker for a love story even if it's taking place between two robots!

The Quiet Ones2014 | 98 min | HorrorJ: This film was alright. Nothing special, but it wasn't awful. The story was quite good and the two female leads were pretty pretty (always a winner) but there was nothing truly gripping here. Gotta say I did like the combination of standard filming method and the found footage as filmed by the cameraman. I'd watch it again. Next year. Maybe.

L: As this was from the makers of The Woman in Black I had high expectations for this film as I love The Woman in Black, The Quiet Ones has an interesting storyline where a professor sets out to prove people can't be possessed instead they simply 'create' negative mental energy which can be removed. But really this film does not come anywhere near to been as good as The Woman in Black. It's not the worst horror film we've watched, because we really have watched some trash but I feel that more could have been done with the interesting premise to make this into a good film.

Halloween 1978 | 87 min | Slasher / HorrorJ: Now then, I get that this is considered a classic scary film, and I get that this was once the height of scary, however when you watch it through modern eyes Halloween turns out to be more of a chuckleworthy comedy than a terrifying scary film. The most annoyingly irritating part was the lead male and/or female played by Jamie Lee Curtis...the manly face and deep voice just confused me. And as for Musical Mike and his annoying synths...he didn't scare me!

L: A horror classic that we thought we'd watch on...you guessed it, Halloween night. I don't really know what to say about this, as I imagine that back in the '70s when this was made it would have been scary but I guess we're just too used to modern horror films and in all honesty I didn't find this scary or jumpy at all, in fact I wanted to laugh at parts of it. Such a huge emphasis is put on the fact that Michael Myers is that awful, dangerous 'thing' that's highly disturbed and yeah ok he goes around stabbing people but his character is not explored at all which left me feeling a little annoyed.

If you only watch one of these films it should be...

J: One of Disney's greatest films: A Bug's Life!L: It has to be Wall-E without a doubt.